Twisting in Titirangi 2025

Fifty-four competitors gathered at the Titirangi War Memorial Hall on March 16, 2025, bringing speedcubing action to Auckland, New Zealand across 14 packed rounds. The single-day WCA competition showcased both veteran precision and the relentless pace of improvement coming from the next wave of solvers. Across five distinct disciplines, participants pushed their personal limits, demonstrating the rapid progression that continues to define modern speed cubing.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew the full roster of 54 entrants through three intense rounds of solving. In the final round, Chris Mills secured the title for New Zealand with a winning average of 6.57 seconds, backed by a best single solve of 5.84 seconds. Richard Yiheng Tao pushed the contest down to the wire with a 6.71 average for second place, while Dwyane Ramos completed the podium with a 6.86 mark, highlighting the quality of the 3x3 results.

Beyond the classic Rubik's Cube, the 2x2x2 Cube event saw lightning-fast times from a field of 50 competitors. Yuki Gao of China claimed top honours with an outstanding winning average of 1.21 seconds and a best single solve of 1.04 seconds. Chris Mills picked up the second-place spot with an average of 1.61, while Ram Thakkar earned third place for India on a 1.65 average in an international podium finish.

Dwyane Ramos delivered an exceptional series of performances across the heavier puzzles and alternative formats, capturing three separate victories during the day. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, Ramos took first place with a 9.39 winning average and an 8.31 single across three rounds. Jesse Brooke finished second with an average of 11.86, followed by Chris Mills who secured third place with 12.66.

The big cube events saw Ramos continue his dominant form at the venue. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Ramos took the gold on a winning average of 1:27.45 and a single of 1:25.73, while Angela Braganza finished second in 1:37.85 and Richard Yiheng Tao placed third with 1:47.16. Ramos completed his golden treble in the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:13.36, once again ahead of Braganza at 2:31.21 and Tao at 2:48.04.

Away from the top of the podium, the heart of this cubing competition belonged to emerging solvers taking massive strides in their development. Luke Boshoff achieved a staggering breakthrough on the 2x2x2 Cube, delivering a personal best of 2.88 seconds, which cut 78.2 percent off his previous mark, while also lowering his 3x3x3 personal best by 30.1 percent to 27.46. Lucas Deng trimmed his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 45.3 percent to 13.79, in addition to making his first career official attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed with 44.30 and 2x2x2 with 8.62. Sam Lock improved his 3x3x3 One-Handed mark by 55.3 percent to 28.63 and dropped his 3x3x3 personal best to 12.57, a 42.7 percent drop. Apollo McVey shaved 53.3 percent off his 2x2x2 best to hit 2.08.

Fresh faces and multi-puzzle endurance also defined the day for several rising competitors. Jayden Zhu entered his first official tournament and registered a 23.92 in the 3x3x3 Cube and a 5.98 in the 2x2x2 Cube. Toby Barlow similarly made his tournament debut, logging a 5.96 on the 2x2x2 Cube and a 19.63 on the 3x3x3 Cube. Ryan Dyer took on all five events on the schedule, setting personal bests that included a 11.62 in 3x3x3 alongside his first ever tournament attempts at 6x6x6 in 4:17.29 and 7x7x7 in 8:39.49. Triton Tsui registered a 33.7 percent improvement in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 14.01 mark and completed his first official 6x6x6 solve at 4:53.77.

The single day of competition highlighted both elite consistency and rapid personal development across New Zealand cubing. With 13 podium places secured by local solvers alongside international medals for China and India, Twisting in Titirangi 2025 offered a compelling showcase of technical skill and youthful momentum that will set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.